Bigotry Determined Webster’s New
World Dictionary defines “bigot” as “a person who holds blindly and
intolerantly to a particular creed, opinion, etc.” and “bigotry” as “the
behavior, attitude, or beliefs of a bigot.”

Police State Thomas Kachadurian’s column might get the facts right but misses the story.

Oppose The Shell Game Is this a
Shell Game? As a Democrat, I support increased taxes on motor fuels and
vehicles to provide funding for our transportation infrastructure.

Sugars On The Way Senator Patrick
Colbeck from Canton introduced a bill and the Senate passed it allowing
schools and Girl & Boy Scout troops to have up to 3 bake sales per
week.

Robbing the vote We’re
all, regardless of party affiliation, small-d democrats, that is,
staunch defenders of the Constitution and its democratic principles. Let’s look at the actual state of one principle, majority rule. In
the 2012 Michigan election 352,000 MORE voters voted for Democrats
(54%, actually) to be in our House than voted for Republicans. Because
of Republican gerrymandering, though, Republicans control the state
House. The minority rules...

Money talks in Congress Stephen
Tuttle’s column bemoaning the lack of attention paid by elected
officials to will of the people forgets one important point. I think
it’s made clear in a line from the film, Charlie Wilson’s War: “The hell with the voters, all I care about are the donors”...

Congressman
Dan Benishek voted to strip Supplemental Nutritional Assistance
Payments (food stamps) from the bi-partisan Senate passed Agriculture
bill. According to the USDA, there are over 92,000 SNAP recipients in
Benishek’s district. He also voted against the expansion of Medicaid
benefits for the most vulnerable Michigan residents.

The report, “Obamacare: What’s In It for You” by Robert Downes was certainly biased and borderline propaganda...

Who’s running the show?

Here is a little “pop quiz” re: definitions and examples. What
is the government of the U.S.? The U.S. is a federal constitutional
republic. The citizens elect who controls their government...

Misinformed on BC/BS

In
the October 7 issue, letter writer Tom North stated categorically that
he was informed through their customer service department that “Michigan
Blue Cross/Blue Shield will terminate ALL-100% of their current
insurance plans by 3-31 14.”

The latest free trade threat

TPP:
Trans Pacific Partnership. Have you heard of it? If you care about
“Pure Michigan” or “All Things Local” you need to be paying attention. This
is a trade agreement that for the last three years has been negotiated
behind closed doors. It has been called “NAFTA on steroids” for good
reason...

LettersPaging Doctor Dan: The doctor’s
promise to repeal Obamacare reminds me of the frantic restaurant owner
hurrying to install an exhaust fan after the kitchen burns down. He
voted 51 times to replace the ACA law; a colossal waste of money and
time. It’s here to stay and he has nothing to replace it.

Evolution Is Real Science: Breathtaking
inanity. That was the term used by Judge John Jones III in his elegant
evisceration of creationist arguments attempting to equate it to
evolutionary theory in his landmark Kitzmiller vs. Dover Board of
Education decision in 2005.

U.S. No Global Police: Steven
Tuttle in the October 13 issue is correct: our military, under the
leadership of the President (not the Congress) is charged with
protecting the country, its citizens, and its borders. It is not charged
with performing military
missions in other places in the world just because they have something
we want (oil), or we don’t like their form of government, or we want to
force them to live by the UN or our rules.

Graffiti: Art Or Vandalism?: I
walk the [Grand Traverse] Commons frequently and sometimes I include
the loop up to the cistern just to go and see how the art on the cistern
has evolved. Granted there is the occasional gross image or word but
generally there is a flurry of color.

Vote, Everyone: Election
Day on November 4 is fast approaching, and now is the time to make a
commitment to vote. You may be getting sick of the political ads on TV,
but instead, be grateful that you live in a free country with open
elections. Take the time to learn about the candidates by contacting
your county parties and doing research.

Do Fluoride Research: Hydrofluorosilicic
acid, H2SiF6, is a byproduct from the production of fertilizer. This
liquid, not environmentally safe, is scrubbed from the chimney of the
fertilizer plant, put into containers, and shipped. Now it is a
‘product’ added to the public drinking water.

Meet The Homeless: As
someone who volunteers for a Traverse City organization that works with
homeless people, I am appalled at what is happening at the meetings
regarding the homeless shelter. The people fighting this shelter need to
get to know some homeless families. They have the wrong idea about who
the homeless are.

LettersDangerous Votes You voted for Dr. Dan. Thanks!Rep. Benishek failed to cosponsor H.R. 601. It stops subsidies for big oil companies. He
failed to cosponsor H.R. 1084. There is an exemption for hydraulic
fracturing written into the Safe Drinking Water Act. H.R. 1084. It would
require the contents of fracking fluids to be publicly disclosed to
protect the public health.

Solar Is The Answer There
have been many excellent letters about the need for our region, state
and nation to take action on climate change. Now there is a viable
solution to this ever-growing problem: Solar energy is the future.

Real Minimum Wage In
1966, a first class stamp cost 5 cents and minimum wage was $1.25.
Today, a first class stamp is 49 cents, so federal minimum wage should
be $11.25.

Doesn’t Seem Warmer I
enjoy the “environmentalists” twisting themselves into pretzels trying
to convince us that it is getting warmer. Sure it is...